South Africa

[tim123]

Where will I be? So far, nowhere. Where should I go?

As for the blue train, this is simply not something that one does as a side trip to SA. If you want to do it, it will be the reason for the trip. At 600 pounds for 27 hours it is an extortionate price that I shant be spending.

And I have no interest in "beachy" things: on, off or under the water. If I did have such an interest I wouldn't be spending 12 hours on a night flight (each way) to get there. There are easier places to get to, that are just as good.

I just thought that I could go there and see whatever it is that is unique about the country, that's affordable. Apart from the Kruger Park, I couldn't find any obvious recomendations on the web for what to do with 2 weeks in the country and was looking for ideas.

tim

[sunnysan]

Ideas

Well

I am also ex-SA and I would echo the sentiments of a previous poster, I dont miss it, but it is a beautiful country.

Based on your posts I would suggest the following

1) Spend a few days in Cape Town. The restaurants are good and if you have £ it is affordable. Avoid places like the Waterfront as its really pricy and can be sh1t.

I dont know if they still exist but here is a list for you
1) Sukothai , Kloof Street Gardens
Nice Vietnamese style food
2) Ocean Basket , Kloof Street Gardens
Good seafood
3) Kotabuki , Off Buitenkant Strret, Gardens
Good authentic japanese
4) Avanti , Main Road Seapoint
Good Italian (Get a heads up on Seapoint though, last time I was there it was easier to buy crack than cigarettes)
5) Giovannis, Greenpoint nice coffee house, all the locals drink coffee there.

a) Take a trip up the cable car and walk around Table Mountain, great nature and great views of the city. Be careful though, tourists are easy meat for muggers there and there have been quite a few reports of tourists getting done there.

b) Take a trip up the west coast. Ask about a restaurant called "Muisbosskerm" . Its in the middle of nowhere and serves shellfish, crayfish etc in a really rustic rural setting.

c) Go chill out in Camps Bay. Nice bistros and bars on the beach, a bit wannabee French Riviera but nice scenery.

After CT head to the winelands. IMHO one of the nicest places to base yourself is Franschhoek although for wine tours Stellenbosch may be better. You can get a tour around all the wine farms and you will get to taste all the best wine. Dont drive the tour as you will get legless.

After that I would go through the Garden Route and if youlike hiking, go and do the Otter Trail. Its stunning there really. Go to Bloukrantz river bridge and bungee of one of the highest bridges in the world.

After that, head up to KwaZulu Natal on the East coast. Find a smaller game lodge and go stay to see African wildlife. The smaller ones are pricey but it tends to be a bit more interactive.

If you are feeling very adventerous, travel in the Transkei as well, very isolated and very rural. If you want Africa that is good, and go to the Drakensberg in Natal as well. Gets a heads up on this though, I am not sure if its safe enough anymore

Couple of tips.

1) Be careful on the roads. My fellow countrymen are not very consientious about drinking and driving so you have to have yoru wits about you.

2) If you are driving in any major urban area, the scrouge of the streets are the 15 seater minivans which serve as a trasport network between the cities and townships. They own the roads and stop and pull into the traffic without regard for fellow motorists. Dont mess with them or get abusive as most are armed as there are always turf wars for the most lucrative routes. I would strongly discourage you from using them for transport if you are foreign.

3) Dont drink and drive. SA has one of the highest drunk driving death rates in the world. Consequently, the law is pretty sensitive about it and if you do get caught it may mean a night in the charge cells where the best outcome would be losing all your personal belongiings and the worst would a traumatic loss of your anal integrity.

4) Dont walk anywhere after dark and if you walk anywhere stick to the tourist areas. Use you common sense.

5) Avoid central JHB

6) See point 5 :-)


Have a good holiday

[realityhack]

Apart from the Kruger Park, I couldn't find any obvious recomendations on the web for what to do with 2 weeks in the country and was looking for ideas.

tim

I think you will find I've highlighted some of my gfs words above. And any saffa (point just proven sunnysan) will help you out - with what they think makes their country. I'm probably just gnarly cos I've spent the last fing 10 and a half hours in A&E, but browse/contact ppl like rainbow, who will help you decide what you want to do.

It's a MASSIVE country, and there's a lot to do and take in, you'll find there's no one unique essence to the place - that's why they call it the rainbow nation.

[realityhack]

everything he just said

Pretty good summary really. Oh, and don't flash snazzy camera gear etc around.

And remember - ostriches love shiny things like cameras, watches and shades.

[conqurer]

Don't Miss Sun City

Well whatever you do don't miss out Sun City. I have been to SA twice and the two things which impressed me most were Sun City and no speed limit on their motor ways. But I guess there is a limit now, so watch out.


Regards and have a nice trip.

[cykophysh39]

no speed limit on their motor ways. But I guess there is a limit now, so watch out.

The speed limit on the motorways has always been 120km/h , it's just that nobody ever obey's the speed limit.

[cykophysh39]

One of the most Awesome things to do in SA has got to be rafting in the Orange river. I think thre are some Organised tours now.

Also White water rafting in the Zambezi, is awesome, but that is more towards Zimbabwe which might be a bit dodgy these days.

I echo the statements of RealityHack, it is hard to define something that is Uniquely South African. because it is a nation of a multitude of influences.

I would thoroughly recommend one of the smaller game reserves in kwazulu/Natal. These cater for the some of the most "Authentic" South African Experiences. Supplying Traditional Zulu Dances, and the Real Deal South African Spit Braai. (Spit roast) ........... (insert childish joke here)

The okavango delta in Botswana is an awesome experience, and it sure not to dissapoint any visitors.

Watching Rugby at Kingspark in Durban is the best rugby experience in South Africa, and it is an all day event,as the locals start at 8 in the morning with Braai's in the Car park, and it is where you will be able some of the best tasting "Boerie rolls", in SA for free.

There is a Game Farm in the Cape Somewhere, where you can actually live likea Game Farm Vet for 2 weeks, and do everything a vet does, apparently it is an awesome experience.

[Troll]

Are all you ex-SA's s refugees kaffirs or small dicked whiteys?

[sasguru]

Are all you ex-SA's s refugees kaffirs or small dicked whiteys?

And are you some kind of retarded cretin?

[sunnysan]

South Africans

Are all you ex-SA's s refugees kaffirs or small dicked whiteys?

For the record, the word "kaffir" is Arabic for infidel/non-believer and freely used in muslim communities here to describe someone who does not prescribe to the principles of Islam. So in short you are probably as much a kaffir as I am, if you take the original meaning of the word into consideration,

Used in the South African context, it is usually used as an offensive reference to a black person but it also loosely refers to a persons social level, hence the spawning of the concept of a "white kaffir", which would describe a person of European origin with no social standing, manners and of very limited intellect.

The limited intellect aspect of this would also result in the use of ignorant slander(Albeit incorrect) and firmly cement in my mind, that the concept of a "white kaffir" is alive and well in the UK and personified by people like you.

PS My **** is probabaly bigger than yours. I am South African which means I am black from the waist down